Short woman trying to figure out calories - former Weight Watchers member
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witchaywoman81
Posts: 280 Member
Hey all. I have done Weight Watchers too many times to count, but I don't like the changes they've made to the most recent program, so I'm trying to track calories in/out with MFP and Fitbit.
I am fairly active, moving on an off all day long, and my Fitbit is saying I'm burning 2500-3000 calories/day. I'm not sure how accurate that is, I have a Charge 2 and I wear the Fitbit all the time.
Anyway, even with the tools, I feel like I'm flying a little blind where my ideal calorie intake is concerned. Fitbit doesn't want me to eat fewer than net 1200 calories/day, but I'm only 5 foot 1 inch tall and could stand to lose 50-60 pounds, so surely my calorie needs are lower than someone else who's taller, right?
I was most successful on Weight Watchers on whatever the program was called from the late 90s-early 2000s. I had 20 daily points/day and could eat from a bank of 35 flexpoints throughout the week...it worked well, but I have NO idea how many calories that would've been and I don't have any of my old food journals.
Any advice from a fellow shorty would be appreciated!
I am fairly active, moving on an off all day long, and my Fitbit is saying I'm burning 2500-3000 calories/day. I'm not sure how accurate that is, I have a Charge 2 and I wear the Fitbit all the time.
Anyway, even with the tools, I feel like I'm flying a little blind where my ideal calorie intake is concerned. Fitbit doesn't want me to eat fewer than net 1200 calories/day, but I'm only 5 foot 1 inch tall and could stand to lose 50-60 pounds, so surely my calorie needs are lower than someone else who's taller, right?
I was most successful on Weight Watchers on whatever the program was called from the late 90s-early 2000s. I had 20 daily points/day and could eat from a bank of 35 flexpoints throughout the week...it worked well, but I have NO idea how many calories that would've been and I don't have any of my old food journals.
Any advice from a fellow shorty would be appreciated!
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Replies
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witchaywoman81 wrote: »Hey all. I have done Weight Watchers too many times to count, but I don't like the changes they've made to the most recent program, so I'm trying to track calories in/out with MFP and Fitbit.
I am fairly active, moving on an off all day long, and my Fitbit is saying I'm burning 2500-3000 calories/day. I'm not sure how accurate that is, I have a Charge 2 and I wear the Fitbit all the time.
Anyway, even with the tools, I feel like I'm flying a little blind where my ideal calorie intake is concerned. Fitbit doesn't want me to eat fewer than net 1200 calories/day, but I'm only 5 foot 1 inch tall and could stand to lose 50-60 pounds, so surely my calorie needs are lower than someone else who's taller, right?
I was most successful on Weight Watchers on whatever the program was called from the late 90s-early 2000s. I had 20 daily points/day and could eat from a bank of 35 flexpoints throughout the week...it worked well, but I have NO idea how many calories that would've been and I don't have any of my old food journals.
Any advice from a fellow shorty would be appreciated!
1200 is the bare minimum of cals for women to get adequate nutrition and most people, even petite women, especially those who are active, can lose eating more than that.
I’m 5’2 and lost most of my weight eating between 1600-1800 total cals. I use a FitBit synced with MFP and since I average 12-15 k steps a day I’m set at active for my activity level and I still eat back my exercise cals. FitBit estimates my TDEE at 2200 and that’s always been accurate for me.
Set your target to lose 1-1.5 lb/week with active, try it for 6-8 weeks with the devices synced and logging as accurately as possible, ideally using a food scale.2 -
I am 5’1” and also did weight watchers flex points in the past. I follow the weight watchers Good Health Guidelines but track calories in myfitnesspal. My start weight is 170ish and I and down 12 pounds so far. My food diary is public.
I don’t currently have a Fitbit but use my iPhone to track steps. If I walk purposely for exercise I manually enter it in myfitnesspal and am sure to note the start time so I don’t accidentally double track. I only eat my exercise calories if I am actually hungry. I have my profile set as sedentary since I work in an office.0 -
Those calorie expenditures on your Fitbit sound off imo but I am not familiar with your activity level.0
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im 5'2 and eat 1,200 on rest days. I dont have a lot to lose though, only about 10lb. if you have more to lose your daily calorie needs are probably a bit higher.0
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To elaborate on my activity level, I do 30 minutes of aerobics (usually in fat burn zone) 5 times/week. In addition, I have 2 young children who I’m always chasing after. I average between 10,000-14,000 steps/day on most days, even the “slow” ones.
I never end up “eating back” all of the calories Fitbit gives me, but then again, I’ve only been experimenting for a few days. Mostly trying to get a feel for what works for everyone else.0 -
At one point years ago I was double tracking weight watchers and Myfitnesspal. My daily points at that time were 20. The days I ate exactly 20 in weight watchers I landed around 1000 calories. I remember my observation at the time was that the extra 200 calories I got on myfitnesspal were likely the weekly bank of points on weight watchers. Using Myfitnesspal, I like to look at my calories on the nutrition tab as the weekly view to see how I am doing on balance.0
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Ah, that is an excellent point re: weeklies.emmamcgarity wrote: »At one point years ago I was double tracking weight watchers and Myfitnesspal. My daily points at that time were 20. The days I ate exactly 20 in weight watchers I landed around 1000 calories. I remember my observation at the time was that the extra 200 calories I got on myfitnesspal were likely the weekly bank of points on weight watchers. Using Myfitnesspal, I like to look at my calories on the nutrition tab as the weekly view to see how I am doing on balance.
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I usually have one day per week that is higher in calorie due to dining out or a special event of some sort. The weekly view really helps keep it in perspective for me so that I don’t feel like giving up if I go over on one day0
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WW circa 1960's was 1200 cal for women. That's never really changed regardless of point system variations on a theme. Back then you couldn't game the system by eating through all of your points with artificially sweetened multi-cr@p. You could only eat the foods listed in the menu plan - weighing and measuring portions.
MFP does not support eating under 1200 cal aday either. When you add your activity, everything is figured for you. Don't overthink it. Just start with 1200 and you can bump that up with your activity levels.
I tried the WW in 2015. I resented the point system and it backfired for me. Good fats came with a penalty, including greek yogurt but the artificially sweetened multi-cr@p was rewarded. I don't use any sweeteners. The weekly weigh-ins...I felt like I was with a herd of cattle using a cattle prod.
WW lifers don't graduate. They keep going forever.
I can motivate myself, track my food and save whopping boatloads of money by using MFP. I've had success here since 2016.
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You are very wise! The reason I think I’m overthinking it is twofold:WW circa 1960's was 1200 cal for women. That's never really changed regardless of point system variations on a theme. Back then you couldn't game the system by eating through all of your points with artificially sweetened multi-cr@p. You could only eat the foods listed in the menu plan - weighing and measuring portions.
MFP does not support eating under 1200 cal aday either. When you add your activity, everything is figured for you. Don't overthink it. Just start with 1200 and you can bump that up with your activity levels.
I tried the WW in 2015. I resented the point system and it backfired for me. Good fats came with a penalty, including greek yogurt but the artificially sweetened multi-cr@p was rewarded. I don't use any sweeteners. The weekly weigh-ins...I felt like I was with a herd of cattle using a cattle prod.
WW lifers don't graduate. They keep going forever.
I can motivate myself, track my food and save whopping boatloads of money by using MFP. I've had success here since 2016.
1) with all of my previous weight watchers experience, i don’t really have a good understanding of how many calories my body actually needs.
2) I’m getting a LOT of “extra” calories from Fitbit. For example, today I took roughly 10,500 steps and mfp is giving me 900 “extra” calories based on my
Fitbit activity. That number doesn’t seem to change when I alter my minimum calorie goal (eg I changed from 1200 to 1000 to experiment)2 -
Just for reference sake, my Fitbit Charge 2 has me at a calorie burn today of 2470, with my step count at 17,265.
I don't log exercise, cuz I mainly walk, but it is hilly and I do get about 35 stair cases. My usual daily calorie burn is right around 2500, and step count is between 15K and 18K. Daily calorie is 1200. I am 66, female, 5'2-1/2". I don't need as many calories as a younger person and have consulted with, and am following, my health care providers suggestions for weight loss. I have no medical or health issues.0 -
I recommend sticking to the 1200 myfitnesspal gives you as your daily goal. The lowest I go is 1000 and only if I am truly not hungry and have met my minimum dairy and veggie servings for the day. My focus is not solely on weight loss but also on overall health0
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I just wanted to point out that in MFP you can turn off the addition of calories for the steps you take. I like to keep a steady baseline goal for myself and burning extra calories to be a bonus toward my progress. So I went into settings and turned off the adjustment for steps. You can still see your steps but it just doesn’t add calories to your daily goal0
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witchaywoman81 wrote: »
You are very wise! The reason I think I’m overthinking it is twofold:WW circa 1960's was 1200 cal for women. That's never really changed regardless of point system variations on a theme. Back then you couldn't game the system by eating through all of your points with artificially sweetened multi-cr@p. You could only eat the foods listed in the menu plan - weighing and measuring portions.
MFP does not support eating under 1200 cal aday either. When you add your activity, everything is figured for you. Don't overthink it. Just start with 1200 and you can bump that up with your activity levels.
I tried the WW in 2015. I resented the point system and it backfired for me. Good fats came with a penalty, including greek yogurt but the artificially sweetened multi-cr@p was rewarded. I don't use any sweeteners. The weekly weigh-ins...I felt like I was with a herd of cattle using a cattle prod.
WW lifers don't graduate. They keep going forever.
I can motivate myself, track my food and save whopping boatloads of money by using MFP. I've had success here since 2016.
1) with all of my previous weight watchers experience, i don’t really have a good understanding of how many calories my body actually needs.
2) I’m getting a LOT of “extra” calories from Fitbit. For example, today I took roughly 10,500 steps and mfp is giving me 900 “extra” calories based on my
Fitbit activity. That number doesn’t seem to change when I alter my minimum calorie goal (eg I changed from 1200 to 1000 to experiment)
What activity level did you choose on MFP? What does FitBit say your total calorie burn is?
The adjustment is the difference between what MFP thinks you would burn in a day, based on what you entered for stats and activity level, and what FitBit says you actually burned. Large adjustments usually mean that your activity level is set to Sedentary, when you aren’t. MFP won’t let you set your goal at 1000 cals, so that’s why you don’t see a change.
If 10k or more steps a day is typical for you then you aren’t Sedentary, you are lightly to moderately active. Changing that setting will increase your baseline calorie target in MFP and then the adjustments will be smaller. If you still are concerned with accuracy then eat back only 50-75% of the adjustment until you determine how accurate they are for you, ie do you lose at the desired rate you’ve chosen after about 6-8 weeks?3 -
emmamcgarity wrote: »I recommend sticking to the 1200 myfitnesspal gives you as your daily goal. The lowest I go is 1000 and only if I am truly not hungry and have met my minimum dairy and veggie servings for the day. My focus is not solely on weight loss but also on overall health
Why? Someone as active as she is does not need to eat that low in order to lose... very few people do need to go that low.
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MamaNess2018 wrote: »I just wanted to point out that in MFP you can turn off the addition of calories for the steps you take. I like to keep a steady baseline goal for myself and burning extra calories to be a bonus toward my progress. So I went into settings and turned off the adjustment for steps. You can still see your steps but it just doesn’t add calories to your daily goal
Why would you want to ignore something that is designed to keep you at an appropriate calorie deficit for the amount of activity you engage in?
As a wise rabbit once said, “The winner is the one who eats the most and still loses the weight”3 -
WinoGelato wrote: »emmamcgarity wrote: »I recommend sticking to the 1200 myfitnesspal gives you as your daily goal. The lowest I go is 1000 and only if I am truly not hungry and have met my minimum dairy and veggie servings for the day. My focus is not solely on weight loss but also on overall health
Why? Someone as active as she is does not need to eat that low in order to lose... very few people do need to go that low.
I apologize. I was unclear. I meant 1200 as a minimum. If that is what myfitnesspal is recommending for her stats.
As far as exercise calories go. Estimates can be way off in either direction. I eat them if I am hungry but not usually all of them. It may take a few weeks of consistently tracking the data to learn the right plan.
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I am so sorry that I’m not giving advice but your picture caught my eye. Steviiiieeee, super excited to be seeing Fleetwood Mac later this year in concert! Good luck with your weight loss!1
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witchaywoman81 wrote: »
You are very wise! The reason I think I’m overthinking it is twofold:WW circa 1960's was 1200 cal for women. That's never really changed regardless of point system variations on a theme. Back then you couldn't game the system by eating through all of your points with artificially sweetened multi-cr@p. You could only eat the foods listed in the menu plan - weighing and measuring portions.
MFP does not support eating under 1200 cal aday either. When you add your activity, everything is figured for you. Don't overthink it. Just start with 1200 and you can bump that up with your activity levels.
I tried the WW in 2015. I resented the point system and it backfired for me. Good fats came with a penalty, including greek yogurt but the artificially sweetened multi-cr@p was rewarded. I don't use any sweeteners. The weekly weigh-ins...I felt like I was with a herd of cattle using a cattle prod.
WW lifers don't graduate. They keep going forever.
I can motivate myself, track my food and save whopping boatloads of money by using MFP. I've had success here since 2016.
1) with all of my previous weight watchers experience, i don’t really have a good understanding of how many calories my body actually needs.
2) I’m getting a LOT of “extra” calories from Fitbit. For example, today I took roughly 10,500 steps and mfp is giving me 900 “extra” calories based on my
Fitbit activity. That number doesn’t seem to change when I alter my minimum calorie goal (eg I changed from 1200 to 1000 to experiment)
My fitbit calorie adjustment has always worked out well for me, but I don't have an HR one. If you are concerned that it's giving you too much, start out eating back half and see how it goes based on your hunger levels and weight loss over 4-6 weeks and make any changes you need to from there. Good luck!3 -
WinoGelato wrote: »witchaywoman81 wrote: »
You are very wise! The reason I think I’m overthinking it is twofold:WW circa 1960's was 1200 cal for women. That's never really changed regardless of point system variations on a theme. Back then you couldn't game the system by eating through all of your points with artificially sweetened multi-cr@p. You could only eat the foods listed in the menu plan - weighing and measuring portions.
MFP does not support eating under 1200 cal aday either. When you add your activity, everything is figured for you. Don't overthink it. Just start with 1200 and you can bump that up with your activity levels.
I tried the WW in 2015. I resented the point system and it backfired for me. Good fats came with a penalty, including greek yogurt but the artificially sweetened multi-cr@p was rewarded. I don't use any sweeteners. The weekly weigh-ins...I felt like I was with a herd of cattle using a cattle prod.
WW lifers don't graduate. They keep going forever.
I can motivate myself, track my food and save whopping boatloads of money by using MFP. I've had success here since 2016.
1) with all of my previous weight watchers experience, i don’t really have a good understanding of how many calories my body actually needs.
2) I’m getting a LOT of “extra” calories from Fitbit. For example, today I took roughly 10,500 steps and mfp is giving me 900 “extra” calories based on my
Fitbit activity. That number doesn’t seem to change when I alter my minimum calorie goal (eg I changed from 1200 to 1000 to experiment)
What activity level did you choose on MFP? What does FitBit say your total calorie burn is?
The adjustment is the difference between what MFP thinks you would burn in a day, based on what you entered for stats and activity level, and what FitBit says you actually burned. Large adjustments usually mean that your activity level is set to Sedentary, when you aren’t. MFP won’t let you set your goal at 1000 cals, so that’s why you don’t see a change.
If 10k or more steps a day is typical for you then you aren’t Sedentary, you are lightly to moderately active. Changing that setting will increase your baseline calorie target in MFP and then the adjustments will be smaller. If you still are concerned with accuracy then eat back only 50-75% of the adjustment until you determine how accurate they are for you, ie do you lose at the desired rate you’ve chosen after about 6-8 weeks?
Ok, this is is interesting. I played around with the activity levels and this is what I get:
Not very active: 1200
Lightly active: 1200
Active: 1260
Very active: 1550
I might try using one of the other settings and turning off my “extra” calories from Fitbit.
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